Job Discussion Forums

[Damr8]

My girlfriend and I are seriously looking into making Japan our first place to teach ESL. Both of us have BAs and are completing our TESOL currently.

We are looking for suggestions on medium sized cities in Japan that would be good for first timers. Looking for locations that have a good amount of schools, culture (not just nightlife), and are close enough to the large cities to take a few trips during the year.

Also, anyone who had good experiences with a particular school and you'd recommend us pursuing, we'd really appreciate. I.E. paid on time, supportive with first time teachers, good facilities, etc.

Thanks for any help you can give!

[Glenski]

You should really post these questions in the Japan forum, but here goes.

With a BA you are eligible for entry level work, which includes JET Programme, dispatch ALT work, and eikaiwa (conversation schools). The TESOL certification won't really help you land anything better until you have had a year or 2 of experience here.

Your questions on medium sized cities is a common one. My usual reply is to ask what sort of climate will you not tolerate, because Japan has quite a variable one depending on location. Bear in mind that with the good public transportation system here, getting from mid- to large city is not much of a problem. The whole country is full of culture, too, so defining that sort of thing would help us to help you. I mean, this is a completely different country than yours, so the whole culture will be different no matter where you go. What were you hoping for in the way of "culture"?

Good schools? Take your pick. Most eikaiwa are pretty much the same. Salaries are dropping in some sectors, and most schools operate pretty much the same way. You would do better to search the ads, make a list of the ones you think are intriguing, and then ask about them specifically here. Why? Well, besides the reasons I've just given, there are 2 more.
1) Web sites like this one depend on paying customers (schools), so they often delete posts that are negative about schools. We had a large one here in the form of a sticky that got deleted, probably for that reason.
2) Nobody is going to tell you about a good place where they work now, simply because that would be cutting their own throats. Competition for jobs now if very high in Japan.

Here are a couple of questions for you.
What sort of working relationship do you plan to have with your girlfriend? You will each need a separate work visa, so if only one of you gets a job, what will you do? Also, do you hope to work in the same city, same company?

What is your time frame for finding work?

Are you willing/able to come here to look for work, or are you just going to look for work from where you are now? The latter option will limit you severely in the options you will have (about a dozen employers), while the former option will cost you a lot in setup costs.